The Rift: A My Little Pony Crossover
by Sparkers16
Summary: Rainbow Dash is having a normal day until she finds a little white dot floating in midair. When a pony from a different universe comes out of it, who knows what could happen next? My Little Pony and Pokémon belong to Hasbro and Nintendo. I do not own these franchises in any way, shape, or form.
1. Chapter 1: The Race

Twilight Sparkle stood in front of her six friends. "Okay, you are all probably wondering why I've called you here..."

"Uh oh!" Pinkie Pie frowned. "Was I supposed to be wondering? 'Cause I'm not wondering! I'm sorry, Princess Twilight Sparkle! Please don't banish me!" Pinkie bowed down and kissed Twilight's hoofs.

"Pinkie, stop!" Twilight groaned. "That wasn't an ultimatum."

"An old tomato?"

"Whatever!" Twilight growled as her friends giggled. "Let's just get to business."

"Well, I hope business doesn't take to long," Rainbow Dash snorted. "The Cloudsdale Annual Race starts in half an hour, and Fluttershy and I are gonna be in it." Fluttershy nodded, although she didn't seem too happy at the idea of the race.

"And I have a dress to finish for a client in Canterlot," Rarity added.

"I'm busy as a beaver, too," Applejack sighed. "Big Mac an' I are gonna harvest the Gold Delicious apples today..."

"Girls, could you please stop?!" Twilight seethed. "This is really important! It's about the Elements of Harmony!" That seemed to attract everypony's attention.

"I-Is there something wrong with the Elements?" Fluttershy gasped.

"Well, no," Twilight admitted. "But too many things have gone wrong with them already. Princess Celestia and I discussed it, and we both agreed on a solution."

"Which is?" Rainbow pressed impatiently.

"The Elements are far too vulnerable kept together like we have them." Twilight used her magic to lift the box containing the Elements and pass each Element to its matching pony. "So, from now on, each of you is in charge of your own Element."

"What should we do with them?" Rarity asked.

"I guess that's for you to decide on your own," Twilight answered. "I'd lock them up somewhere."

Applejack fastened the Element of Honesty around her neck. "Uh...can we go now?"

"Fine," Twilight muttered. She wished her friends would care more about the fate of the Elements.

"Alright!" Rainbow shouted, doing a flip in midair. "C'mon Fluttershy, let's go!" First, both pegasi flew home to drop of their Elements. Once Rainbow and Fluttershy were flying to the competition, the yellow pegasus was beginning to have second thoughts.

"I'm not so sure about this..." Fluttershy sighed as they neared the registration area.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Rainbow pouted. "I spent four hours yesterday convincing you to register. And now you're going to chicken out? Is that cool, Fluttershy?"

"N-no," Fluttershy gulped. "That's n-not cool..."

"Good. So you're gonna do it?"

"B-but...what if I don't do well?" Fluttershy whimpered. "What if I come in last place, or crash, and they all laugh at me? I don't think I can take that!"

Rainbow's face softened. "Aw, Fluttershy, you're not that bad of a flier. I've seen you go at super-speed when an animal is in danger!"

"That's different!" Fluttershy squeaked. "I just can't fly well when so many pegasi are watching!" She was starting to hyperventilate. Rainbow knew she had pushed her friend too far. Fluttershy just couldn't race.

"Alright, Fluttershy," Rainbow sighed. "You don't have to race if you really don't want to."

"Oh, thank goodness!" Fluttershy beamed. "I was so scared."

Rainbow shoved her friend good-naturedly. "I'm gonna be expecting the biggest cheer section ever, ok?"

"Of course! Go, Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy tried to shout in her quiet voice. Rainbow flew to the registration cloud while Fluttershy went to buy tickets.


	2. Chapter 2: The Big White Dot

Once she was at the race, Rainbow stood poised on the starting cloud. There were about forty other pegasi in the race. Not like any of them stood a chance. The referee blew the whistle, and Rainbow was off. She didn't go very fast, though. It was only fair to give the others a sporting chance. Even when flapping her wings lazily, Rainbow was ahead of most of the competition. When about ten pegasi passed her, Rainbow decided it was time to get serious. With powerful thrusts of her wings, Rainbow eventually entered the speeds to perform a Sonic Rainboom. It was hard to do a Sonic Rainboom horizontally. But Rainbow knew she could do it. Soon, she felt the sonic explosion pushing her forward. She left a glowing rainbow and every other pegasus behind her. Rainbow shot through the finish line like a bullet.

When the Sonic Rainboom wore off, Rainbow was miles away from the race. She groaned and took off towards where she would get her trophy. Then, she saw it.

It was a little white dot. FLOATING. In the middle of the SKY. At first, Rainbow thought it was a bit of cloud. But it was too circular and unnatural to be that. Rainbow reached out and touched the white dot. She felt an electric tingle run through her, and she quickly pulled her hoof away. Then, the dot began to grow. First it was the size of her hoof, then her head, and eventually the size of a pony. Rainbow decided she would alert everypony about the white circle once she got back to where the race was being held.

But before she could fly away, the dot exploded.

Bits of color and matter swirled around Rainbow, and power waves rocked her back and forth in midair. Rainbow struggled to stay aloft as the explosion engulfed her.

At this point, most other ponies would have tried to get away from the explosion. But Rainbow Dash wasn't most other ponies. She directed herself right towards the central of the chaos: the white circle. As the dangerous dot came into view, Rainbow spotted a ball of energy shooting from it, coming straight towards her. Rainbow did a barrel roll and just managed to dodge out of the way of the projectile. After that, the dot disappeared, and the sky returned to normal.

Rainbow glanced around, looking for any traces showing the explosion was there. But the earth and sky around Rainbow appeared to be unchanged...except that the glowing ball was still there, hurtling to the ground. As it fell, the glowing portion slowly faded away, leaving a pony about to fall to its doom! Rainbow gasped and zoomed to catch the falling pony before they hit the ground. But she was too late. The nameless pony hit the ground hard.

Rainbow landed next to the pony. It was a pegasus mare. She had a light-green coat with a dark-green and pink striped mane. Rainbow checked her heartbeat. The blue pegasus wasn't a doctor, but she did have a bit of medical training. The mare was unconscious, but still alive, thank Celestia. She was battered and bruised, but otherwise seemed to be fine. Rainbow tried to carry her back to town, but she was too heavy. Rainbow laid her back on the ground and shook her, trying to wake her up.


	3. Chapter 3: Something Wrong

Something was wrong.

Something was very, very, wrong.

Flygon searched her brain, trying to discover what was "wrong."

Well, for one thing, everything was pitch-black. Flygon's eyes were closed. And someone was poking her. Moaning, Flygon opened her eyes. And even more things went wrong.

There was something sitting on Flygon, poking her. It was blue and furry, and looked like a Rapidash with rainbow hair instead of flames. Flygon closed her eyes again. Could anything be more wrong than this?

"Are you okay?" The blue thing asked. It could talk, apparently.

"I'll be fine if you get off me," Flygon coughed, opening her eyes.

"Sorry," the blue thing apologized, standing up. "Are you sure you're not hurt? You fell pretty hard."

"I did? What happened?"

The blue thing proceeded to explain what she had seen. As she did, Flygon remembered. She made it! She actually made it! The alternate universe portal wasn't a dud after all! Flygon was giddy with joy.

"I have some questions for you," the blue thing said. "What's your name?"

"I'm called Flygon," Flygon answered. "What's YOUR name?"

"You don't know me?" The blue thing practically withered.

"Umm...no, I don't."

"My name's Rainbow Dash," the blue thing stated proudly. "I'm the best flier in Equestria." Flygon guessed that "Equestria" was the name of the place she was in.

"Are you actually a good flier, or are you just lying?" Flygon asked suspiciously.

"I told you, I'm the very best!" Rainbow Dash growled angrily. "In fact, I was just about to get my first-place trophy for the race I just won. You wanna come with?"

Flygon nodded. She didn't have anywhere else to go. But when she stood up, she found ANOTHER thing that was wrong. The label on the alternate universe portal did say she would change her body shape, but Flygon didn't expect it would be THIS bad. Instead of her talons, she only saw odd, straight legs. Her horns were gone, too, replaced with ears and a mane like Rainbow Dash. Her wings were feathered. She had fur instead of scales. Flygon sighed as she tried to get used to all these wrong things.


	4. Chapter 4: Rainbow Dash

Flygon stared at Rainbow Dash, who was now carrying a huge gold trophy on her back. Everything was so...strange in Equestria. Every single person Flygon saw was some sort of pastel-colored pony. Where Flygon came from, she always had to live on the run from humans trying to catch her. But here, everything was peaceful.

"Rainbow Dash?" Flygon said.

"Just call me Rainbow. What do ya want?"

"I...need someplace to stay. I...can't get back to where I live." Flygon didn't want to tell Rainbow Dash that she was from a different universe in the public. She would've already teleported back, but she couldn't find the portal-maker. Flygon guessed that it was destroyed when it was activated. She needed to find a way to make a new one, and she needed a place to live while she was figuring that out.

"You can stay at my place!" Rainbow suggested. "I'll lead the way. I was going there anyway to drop off my trophy. C'mon, let's fly!"

What? Flygon thought. Fly? With these tiny wings?!

"I don't really know how," Flygon stuttered. "Can we just walk?"

"Uh, no." Rainbow said, rolling her eyes. "My house is kinda in the SKY."

Once Flygon learned to fly as a pony, she realized it wasn't much different than flying in her old form. She was actually pretty good, and could keep up with Rainbow, who was disgruntled by this. Eventually, the two arrived at Rainbow Dash's house, which was made out of...clouds? No, that couldn't be possible. But then, Rainbow landed on the front porch as if it were stone. Hesitating, Flygon flew over to the cloud-house. She squeaked in terror, expecting to fall to her doom, but she ended up standing on the clouds. The clouds felt puffy and moist-just like a cloud should feel-but they seemed to be perfectly solid.

"You are one weird pegasus," Rainbow said, shaking her head. Flygon realized it was time to tell Rainbow about who she really was. She was starting to get suspicious.

"Rainbow, let's go inside. I have something to tell you."

"Ok..." Rainbow agreed, confused.

Once they were inside, Rainbow brought out a couple cloud cushions, and they both sat down. Flygon began to tell her story.

Flygon was from another universe. In her universe, she was what was called a Pokémon. There were evil creatures in her universe called humans. Humans captured Pokémon in Pokeballs, and made the Pokémon their slaves. Flygon had created an alternate universe portal so she could escape the humans that were chasing her. The portal was a small machine with number keys on it. Each universe had a different numerical code. Flygon, wanting to test the portal out, had typed in a random code, and it brought her to Rainbow Dash's universe. But now, the portal was destroyed, so Flygon needed a way to recreate it.

Rainbow Dash sat there open-mouthed.

"You don't have to believe me-" Flygon began to say.

"Nah, I believe you," Rainbow interrupted. "But that is so...AWESOME!"

Flygon's jaw quivered for a couple seconds. Then, she burst out laughing. Rainbow and Flygon laughed together for a long time.


	5. Chapter 5: New Friends

Flygon yawned and rolled over on the cloud couch. She had slept like a Snorlax. She tiptoed into Rainbow's room to find that the blue pegasus was still fast asleep. Flygon nudged Rainbow's flank, but she refused to wake up. Suddenly, Flygon heard a shout from outside.

"Hey, Rainbow! Rise and shine!" Flygon peered out the window to find the source of the voice. She saw five ponies standing outside. They were all different colors: yellow, white, purple, brown, and pink.

"Sorry," Flygon called out the window. "Rainbow's still dreaming."

The pink pony let out a scream of surprise, and Flygon resisted the urge to cover her ears. The mare's voice was ridiculously high.

"Calm down, Pinkie," the brown pony exclaimed in a very Southern accent. "There'll always be _some_ ponies ya don't know."

"Are you a friend of Rainbow's?" the purple pony with wings and a horn asked.

"Kind of," Flygon answered. "I'm staying at her place for a while. I'm...new here."

"You're new?!" Pinkie squeaked. "Oh boy, oh boy, we have to give you a tour of Ponyville! And have a welcome party! What's your name?"

"I'm Flygon."

"My name's Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie beamed.

"I'm Twilight Sparkle," the purple mare said.

"You can call me Rarity," the white unicorn said, tossing her stylish, indigo mane.

"The name's Applejack," the brown pony drawled.

Everyone looked at the yellow pegasus, who was backing away slowly. "Oh!" she cried softly. "I-I-I'm F-Fluttershy..."

"Do come down," Rarity shouted. "Don't keep us waiting!"

"Umm...shouldn't I wake Rainbow first?" Flygon wondered. All the other ponies laughed.

"There aint no point," Applejack chuckled. "If Rainbow's snoozing, Discord could return and she wouldn't even notice!" The ponies laughed again. Flygon didn't understand what Applejack was talking about, but she laughed along anyway.

Tentatively, Flygon glided from the window to the ground, and the ponies led her into Ponyville. They showed her all sorts places, like bakeries, farms, shops...by the end of the day, Flygon was overwhelmed with all of the pony culture. The last place they stopped at was the library, which was built into a tree. Flygon was about to head back to Rainbow's house when she remembered her goal: to research ways to rebuild the portal. The library seemed like a great place to start. Flygon asked Twilight if she could look at some books, and her request was gladly granted. Apparently, even though Twilight was a princess and everything (Flygon was still trying to wrap her head around all the princess stuff) she still lived in the library most of the time.

Flygon flitted to the top shelves, looking for titles that popped out at her. Finally, she found a book titled "The Elements of Harmony." Flygon thought the Elements of Harmony seemed vaguely familiar, so she opened the book. She began reading the opening statement.

_The Elements of Harmony were created by the two princesses in charge of the sun and moon, Celestia and Luna. They were first used to defeat the evil embodiment of chaos, Discord._

"So that's who Discord is..." Flygon muttered to herself. She kept reading.

_The Elements represent honesty, loyalty, generosity, laughter, kindness, and magic. The first five currently reside in Princess Luna's old castle, located in the Evergreen Forest. The sixth has never been found. The Elements are activated by using a spark to unite them. __The Elements are extremely powerful. Their power is almost limitless if they can be activated._

Limitless power... Could it be possible that Flygon could create a new portal machine using the Elements of Harmony? She had to tell Rainbow about this! She put the book back on the shelf and zoomed out the library door. Shockingly, she flew straight into Rainbow Dash herself!

"Flygon! Phew. I was worried that you went back to the crazy world you came from." Flygon's eyes went wide, but no one heard Rainbow, thankfully. The two pegusi lazily flew back to Rainbow's house, but were stopped by a little brown filly with a pink, scraggly mane.

"Hey, Scootaloo!" Rainbow said, giving the filly a hoof-bump.

"Hi, Rainbow!" Scootaloo grinned. "Here, can you sign this for me?" Scootaloo held out a banner and a black marker. Rainbow happily signed the banner, and Scootaloo dashed away.

"Why did that little filly ask for your signature?" Flygon asked, confused.

"Duh. I told you, I'm the best flier in Equestria. Actually, scratch that. I'm the best flier EVER!"

"You shouldn't be so over-confident," Flygon sniffed. Rainbow whirled around, snorting in anger.

"Oh yeah?" Rainbow growled. "I AM the best flier. YOU shouldn't be so judgmental. I don't see you challenging me to a race!"

"Okay then," Flygon shrugged. "I challenge you to a race."

"It's on," Rainbow said, her eyes gleaming. "Tomorrow. At the crack of dawn. You bet there'll be an audience."


	6. Chapter 6: A Not So Easy Race

"Rainbow? Are you awake?" Fluttershy's soft voice cut through Rainbow's dreams.

"I'm awake now," Rainbow yawned, peeling her heavy eyes open.

"Oh, I'm so sorry...it's just the race is about to start, and everypony's waiting for you."

"Oh, geez, Fluttershy!" Rainbow groaned. "You should've woken me up BEFORE the race started."

Fluttershy whimpered. "Please forgive me, I didn't mean to do anything wrong..."

"Doesn't matter." Rainbow jumped out of bed. "C'mon, we've gotta go!" Grabbing Fluttershy by the hoof, Rainbow leaped into the air and flew to the field where the race was going to happen.

Rainbow had told Pinkie Pie to invite everyone to see the race, and Pinkie didn't let her down. Everyone from Ponyville and Cloudsdale had come to see who would dare to challenge Equestria's best flier. Speaking of which, Flygon was already ad the starting cloud, flexing her wings. Rainbow gritted her teeth and landed next to the green pony. Unlike the Cloudsdale Annual Race, there was no going easy on Flygon. She thought she could beat rainbow? Well, she was wrong, and she was going to have that pounded into her tiny brain.

Fluttershy held the whistle carefully in her hooves, and finally blew it as hard as she could. The sound wasn't very loud, but the racers heard it and began.

To Rainbow's surprise, Flygon wasn't far behind at top speed. Rainbow decided it was time to kick it in gear...Time to do a Sonic Rainboom.

She could feel the mach cone gathering around her, and then she felt the boost of the colorful explosion. A rainbow streamed out behind her. Rainbow looked back and saw that Flygon was far behind. The finish line was within reach.

Flygon watched in amazement as Rainbow emitted a rainbow explosion. The waves of power rocked Flygon back and forth, and she struggled to stay on course. Then, Flygon sensed something familiar...something she hadn't sensed since she came to Equestria...her moves! She still had them all this time? Maybe she could use them to beat Rainbow. She had to figure something out, and quick. Earth Power would be useless, she was a thousand feet off the ground. Dragon Claw wouldn't help either. Neither would Sky Drop, she was trying to STAY in the air. Her fourth move was Hyper Beam. Rainbow was still close enough to hit with a powerful Hyper Beam, but Flygon realized that would be cheating, and it could seriously hurt her competition. But maybe she could use Hyper Beam behind her to speed up... Well, it was worth a try.

Rainbow was already fifty feet ahead of Flygon, but she could still hear the green pegasus shout, "Hyper Beam!" Rainbow looked back and saw Flygon's mouth open wide. There was some sort of glowing energy inside her mouth. Flygon looked back at the starting line, and released a beam of light that boosted her forward. She was catching up! Maybe Rainbow could make it to the finish before Flygon got ahead. Rainbow tried to flap her wings harder, but she was going as fast as she could.

Both leaving behind luminous beams, Rainbow and Flygon crossed the finish line at the exact same time.


	7. Chapter 7: The Elements of Harmony

Rainbow didn't talk to Flygon until they reached her house. Of course, she didn't even get the opportunity: Everypony was after Flygon to question about what she did during the race.

Once the two were inside, Rainbow turned around and stared at Flygon, her face unreadable. "What was that?"

"It's called Hyper Beam," Flygon explained. "Pokémon like me have things called 'moves.' We can use moves to control all sorts of things. Hyper Beam is usually an attack, but I used it as a booster."

Rainbow nodded blankly. After a few seconds, she slumped down to the floor.

"I don't mind that we tied," Rainbow sighed. "In fact, I'm happy. Nopony has ever truly challenged me before, and I think that Hyper Beam thing is AWESOME. It's just...it's just now everyone is gonna think less of me because you tied me. They're gonna make fun of me."

"Are you sure? Everyone here seems too nice to do something like that."

"In Ponyville, everything is fine. But my friends from Cloudsdale are gonna act terrible about it. You wouldn't know, Flygon. You've only been here for a day. Everypony in Cloudsdale is super competitive about flying."

"Come on, Rainbow," Flygon comforted the sullen pegasus. "Everybody makes mistakes."

Rainbow looked down at her hooves, at the brink of tears. "I'm different."

"How?"

A few drops of salty water pushed their way out of Rainbow's eyes. "When I first got my cutie mark from performing a Sonic Rainboom, I let it get to my head. I thought I was too cool for school. I dropped out. Everypony used to make fun of me because of it. My defense was my awesome flying skills. Now it's gonna start all over again."

"I'm so sorry, Rainbow. You should've told me. I could've lost on purpose." Flygon looked guiltily at the sobbing pony. "Besides, you won't have to worry about me long. I think I've found a way to rebuild my portal machine. Then, I can leave, and your friends will forget about me soon enough."

Several emotions crossed Rainbow's face. Flygon noticed relief, gratefulness...but was that a flash of pain? Why? Flygon brushed it aside and explained.

"I was reading some books in the library when I found this thing about the Elements of Harmony. The book said that they have limitless power, so there's no reason that they can't make a new portal machine." Flygon paused for a second. "The book said that they're in castle in the Evergreen Forest."

To Flygon's surprise, Rainbow began to laugh. "Geez, those old books are outdated. Let me fill ya in."

Many moons ago, the evil Mare in the Moon, Nightmare Moon, was able to escape her prison on the moon. Nightmare Moon captured Princess Celestia and created eternal night. Rainbow and her friends went on a quest into the Evergreen Forest to find the Elements of Harmony. Nightmare Moon smashed them, but they were recreated by the magic of friendship between the six ponies. They used the Elements to strip Nightmare Moon of her madness, and she became Princess Luna.

"Wow..." Flygon gaped. "Where are the Elements now?" Grinning, Rainbow raced into her trophy room. She came back wearing a golden necklace embedded with a ruby lightning bolt. Striking a pose, Rainbow said, "Meet the Element of Loyalty!"

Flygon didn't realize her jaw could open this wide. "No way."

"Yeah, way! C'mon, my friends have the others. Let's go get them now."

Eventually, the seven ponies stood in the library.

"Rainbow?" Rarity pressed. "Why ever did you call an emergency Elements of Harmony meeting?"

"Well, you know Flygon," Rainbow said, pointing to the green pegasus. "But did you know that she's from an alternate universe? And her universe portal-maker has broken. So she needs us to use the Elements to create a new one."

It took a while, but eventually Flygon and Rainbow convinced the other ponies that her story was true.

"Let's see..." Twilight hesitated, thinking hard. "I can use a Memory spell to see what the portal machine looks like. Then, we'll use the Elements to recreate it. Come here, Flygon. This will only take a second. Try to think of the machine as hard as you can."

Flygon galloped over to Twilight, who put her horn on Flygon's head. Flygon felt the oddest thing: a presence in her mind besides her own. She tried to picture the portal machine as hard as she could...how it looked, its functions, the complicated technology...suddenly, the presence vanished.

"Ok, I've got it now," Twilight announced. "Come on, girls. Let's stand in a circle." The six ponies, each wearing their Elements necklaces, stood in a circle. Twilight closed her eyes, working hard to activate the Elements. When the allicorn opened her eyes, they were all white and glowing. Suddenly, each Element began to radiate energy. The energy focused on the center of the circle. The light grew brighter and brighter until it was blinding. Flygon shielded her eyes with one hoof.

Finally, the light show stopped. In the center of the circle, a new portal-maker sat, gently humming as it's complicated circuits sprung into action. Flygon knew it was a perfect copy.

"Thank you," Flygon choked. "Thank you all so much."

"It was nothin', sugar," Applejack said, breathless. "Now, it'd best be time for ya to get back to yer own world." The other ponies nodded in agreement, except for Rainbow Dash.


	8. Chapter 8: The Portal

Rainbow stood on the open field, watching Flygon tinker with the portal machine. Flygon said that the portal causes a huge explosion when made, so it should be done in a wide open space. Flygon also suggested that she create the portal alone. Rainbow refused. She wanted to be the last pony to see Flygon off.

"I think I've got it," Flygon shouted. "I'm going to activate the portal now."

"Come back soon, ok?" Rainbow asked.

"Rainbow..."

"What?"

"The energy from creating a rift in time and space causes the machine to self-destruct. I'll try my best to build a new one when I get back to my world, I really will, but it'll take a super long time to steal the materials I need from the humans. And worst of all, I don't even remember the code for your universe. I was just typing in random numbers when I traveled to this world. I might never be able to come back here."

Rainbow felt a sharp pain in her chest. Flygon might be gone. Forever. Rainbow had only known the green pegasus for a couple days, but she had really come to like her. "Can't you stay longer?"

"No, Rainbow," Flygon sighed. "I have things in my world to take care of: friends, family..."

"So this is goodbye." Rainbow felt teardrops spill out of her eyes. Crying twice in one day. A new record.

Flygon was crying, too. "Yeah. Goodbye...you'll need to take to the air, far away. I don't want you getting hurt from the explosion."

Reluctantly, Rainbow flew a hundred feet into the air. She watched as Flygon took what seemed like hours punching in the code for her universe. Finally, Rainbow glimpsed the machine generating electricity. The electricity gathered over the machine, and slowly formed into a little white dot. A portal. Flygon stepped up and touched the white dot. Rainbow saw her wince from the electric shock the portal emitted. Then, a layer of bright energy started to envelop Flygon. She was really leaving... No. Rainbow had to drop down there, say one last goodbye as her new friend vanished forever.

Rainbow folded her wings and dropped like a stone. "Flygon!" she yelled. Rainbow landed a foot from the glowing ball that used to be Flygon. Rainbow could make out the shape of Flygon, her eyes going wide, screaming something in a distorted voice. It sounded like, "Get away from here!" The portal was the size of a pony now. Rainbow had to take a second to figure out what Flygon was saying, and she was too late. The portal exploded, propelling shock waves everywhere, and shooting bits of stuff. Rainbow unfolded her wings and tried to fly away, but she was being pulled in by the portal. She couldn't get away from the traction. Flygon vanished into the portal.

One of Rainbow's flanks touched the portal, and she screamed as she was surrounded by the same light as Flygon. Rainbow struggled, but to no avail. She felt the light almost squishing her, compressing her down to molecular size to travel through dimensions. Rainbow was sucked into the portal, and she felt every bit of matter in her dissolve.


	9. Chapter 9: The Pokemon World

Something was wrong.

Something was very, very wrong.

Rainbow felt...different. Yet awesome, at the same time. When she opened her eyes, she was shocked to see a thick jungle canopy instead of blue sky. Where was she? Then, like lightning, Rainbow remembered leaping into the portal with Flygon... Uh-oh. Where was Flygon?

Just then, Rainbow heard a familiar voice. "Body, sweet body!" Flygon's voice rang from behind Rainbow. Rainbow looked over her shoulder, expecting to see Flygon. But instead, she saw a giant green monster! It had weird antenna-things, pink-ish membranes over its eyes, diamond shaped wings, and a long, striped tail.

"What the-" Rainbow gulped.

"What the-" the monster stuttered in Flygon's voice. That thing must have been...no, it couldn't have been... "Flygon? Is that you?" Rainbow gasped.

"I should be asking you the same question," Flygon said, shaking her head in disbelief. "You know what? You kind of look like a Pokémon now. But not one I've ever seen before."

"What?" Rainbow looked down at herself and gasped. Her flanks were patterned with rainbow designs. Her snout was much longer. Her wings were twice the size they used to be. Long claws erupted from each of her hoofs. Wisps of cloud trailed off of her in every direction. Thankfully, Rainbow's Element of Harmony was still chained tightly on her neck. It would have been big trouble if she'd lost it.

"Whoa," Rainbow grinned from ear to ear. "I. Look. AWESOME!"

Flygon rolled her eyes. "Well, your personality hasn't changed, that's for sure." Suddenly, Flygon scowled. "Why did you follow me?! Rainbow, we have to get you back to your own world now! We'll find a way to build another portal quick, and I'll try my best to remember the code for your world."

Rainbow smirked. "What's the rush? I like this world so far!"

Flygon sighed in dismay. "Remember what I said about humans? Well, they're everywhere. And they'll be sure to target you with their Pokeballs."

"Why's that?"

"I have no idea what Pokémon you are, Rainbow. In fact, you're probably some sort of new, undiscovered species. I've heard that humans are trying to catch every type of Pokémon in the world. Since they've never seen you before, you'll be in the most danger."

"Okay, okay," Rainbow yawned. "Where are we going now?"

"We're going to where I used to live. My family and friends are there, and they'll help us."

"Sounds good. Lead the way!"

Flygon took off into the sky, and Rainbow followed. She loved her new wings; they made staying aloft a piece of cake. Unfortunately, Flygon was still the same speed as her.


	10. Chapter 10: Sceptile

Flygon coasted through the air, enjoying the cool wind on her face.

"So, where is this place anyway? And while I'm asking questions, what is this place?" Rainbow looked at Flygon expectantly.

"We're almost there. It's a humongous, hollow tree. Many Pokémon live there, because it's so deep in the jungle humans don't invade."

"A humongous tree, huh? Kinda sounds like the library in Ponyville."

"Sort of," Flygon nodded. "Except this tree is much, much bigger. The tree's been growing for thousands of years."

Soon enough, Flygon noticed a patch of the jungle that towered over everything else.

"Here we are," she called, folding her green wings and diving towards the jungle floor.

The circumference of the tree must have been half a mile.

"You weren't kidding when you said it was big," Rainbow muttered.

"Can we enter?" Flygon called to the tree.

"Password, please," a voice emanated from inside the tree.

"Roots of Life," Flygon answered firmly.

"Enter," the voice commanded. Suddenly, the section of bark in front of them retracted, showing a gigantic, dimly lit cavern. Flygon stepped inside, and Rainbow followed.

As Flygon walked into the tree, a large green lizard landed in front of her.

"Sceptile!" Flygon shouted gleefully, embracing the Pokémon.

"Flygon!" Sceptile gasped. Rainbow recognized his voice from before. He was the gatekeeper. "Where have you been? We were all so worried when you disappeared into that portal." Sceptile focused his cat-like, yellow eyes on Rainbow. "And who is this?"

Flygon proceeded to tell Sceptile everything that happened since she dimension-traveled for the first time.

"We're going to find a way to build another portal machine," Flygon explained. "We'll have to travel to the human cities to get parts for it."

Sceptile shook his angular head firmly. "Flygon, I never want you to go near humans. It's too dangerous."

Flygon glared at the Pokémon. "I'm not going to take no for an answer, Sceptile."

Sceptile hesitated. It was clear that he was thinking hard. "Fine," he growled. "But you two will need food and water for the journey. I will get some bags for you." Sceptile leaped into the air, and vanished into one of the tree's many small caves.

"A bit overprotective, huh?" Rainbow nudged Flygon.

Flygon shrugged. "He's raised me since my parents got captured when I was young."

"Oh."

Sceptile landed in front of them, carrying two overstuffed bags. "I wish you two luck," he said, handing them the bags. "You are welcome here anytime."

"Thank you, Sceptile," Flygon said, hugging the green lizard again.

Flygon and Rainbow exited the tree, blinking in the sunlight.

"Follow me," Flygon shouted. The two Pokémon took off into the air.


	11. Chapter 11: The Journey

Rainbow and Flygon flew all day towards the nearest human settlement, which was called Sunyshore City.

"I've got a few questions," Rainbow said, spinning around in midair. "First of all, what do humans look like?"

"They stand on two legs," Flygon explained. "And they're furless, except for a tuft on their head. Ugly, if you ask me."

Rainbow chuckled. "Okay, here comes another question. Why don't you Pokémon tell the humans that you don't want to be captured?"

Flygon looked at Rainbow with sad eyes. "We can understand what they're saying fine. But whenever we talk, to them it just sounds like we're saying our names out loud."

"That's stupid."

"Tell me about it."

"You know, maybe we should land for the night," Rainbow suggested after a while. "It's getting dark." Rainbow left out the part about how she was scared to fly in darkness. Her pride had been hurt too much that day. "I'm hungry, too," Rainbow added. She hadn't eaten anything since morning, and her stomach was growling.

"Alright, let's land here," Flygon agreed, diving towards the ground. The two made camp in some thick bushes that blocked out most of the bitter wind.

"I'm starved," Rainbow complained. "What did Sceptile pack us for dinner?"

Flygon and Rainbow emptied their packs. Odd little things of every color spilled out.

"Berries!" Flygon squealed in delight. "We should be very thankful. These are a real treat!"

"Yeah, sure," Rainbow said sarcastically. The Berries looked disgusting.

Flygon shook her head swiftly. "I'm telling you, they're delicious. What kind of flavors do you like?"

"I like spicy stuff," Rainbow answered, fondly thinking of the burning taste of Sweet Apple Acres apple cider.

Flygon tossed Rainbow a small, red Berry. "Try this, then. It's called a Cheri Berry."

Slowly, Rainbow popped the Cheri Berry into her mouth. It must have been ten times as spicy as apple cider. It brought tears to Rainbow's eyes, but she loved it all the same.

"I've gotta admit, that's good," Rainbow said, savoring the flavor. "Are there any more?"

After their stomachs were stuffed with Berries, Rainbow and Flygon eventually drifted asleep.


	12. Chapter 12: Master Ball

Flygon was awake just as the sun was rising. Humans came out even in the earliest hours of the morning, so they would have to go now if they didn't want to be seen.

"Rainbow, wake up," Flygon whispered. "We have to go." When the pegasus didn't even stir, Flygon shook her by her shoulders.

"Huh? What's goin' on?"

"We have to take off. Are the bags packed up tight?"

"Think so. Can I sleep for a few more minutes?"

"No!" Flygon pulled Rainbow to her feet. "Come on!" The two jumped into the air and began to fly.

They traveled in clouds where nothing could find them. But after a while, they reached an area where the sky was completely clear.

"We've gotta make a break for it," Rainbow realized.

"It's now or never," Flygon agreed. "Ready?"

"Ready."

Flygon and Rainbow bolted across the icy blue sky. Flygon looked back at her friend and gasped. Rainbow was flying so fast, a Sonic Rainboom was coming on. No! That would alert every human within three miles where they were! Flygon could tell Rainbow was trying to stop it, but it was too late. The rainbow explosion lit up the sky like a beacon. It was stronger than any Sonic Rainboom Rainbow had ever done before. With a jolt, Flygon realized that Rainbow was speeding out of control. Flygon managed to grab hold of Rainbow's tail, and they both tumbled towards the ground at alarming speed. They hit the forest floor with enough impact to leave heavy bruises.

Flygon leaped up and saw that Rainbow was unconscious on the ground. "Rainbow! Are you alright?"

Rainbow moaned as she got up. "Is the coast clear?"

Flygon glanced around. "I think s-" She could barely make out a tall, two legged shape in the distance. "Don't make a sound," Flygon breathed. "I see a human."

Flygon camouflaged with the forest greenery, but Rainbow's blue fur stood out like black and white. The human turned around and saw them.

"Up in the air!" Flygon barked. "Now!"

They took off like lightning, but it was too late.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" The human commanded to the Pikachu on his shoulder.

Flygon shielded Rainbow from the powerful Thunderbolt. She didn't feel a thing as the electricity hit her; she was the Ground type. Flygon knew there was no escaping now. She fired a Hyper Beam at the Pikachu.

"Pikachu, dodge it!" The human cried in its shrill voice. The small, yellow mouse leaped out of the way of Flygon's Hyper Beam. The Pikachu aimed another Thunderbolt at Rainbow, who was still trying to get away. Flygon tried to shield her friend again, but the Hyper Beam had sapped all her energy. Rainbow screamed in pain as she was hit.

The human pulled out a Pokeball. Instead of the usual red color, the Pokeball was purple with a little "M" engraved on it. A Master Ball! Flygon's heart sunk with dismay. There was no escaping a Master Ball. The human reached back to throw the Master Ball at Rainbow. In a split second, Flygon knew what she had to do.


	13. Chapter 13: Failure

Rainbow was losing altitude fast. The electricity from the Thunderbolt had seriously hurt her wings. She looked back at the odd-looking human to see that it had something purple in its hands. Her new form gave her improved eyesight, and she could see the exact details of the purple ball. It had a bottom white half, a black stripe in the middle, and an "M" engraved on the top. It kind of looked like Flygon's description of a Pokeball, but she said that they were red.

"FLY, RAINBOW!" She heard Flygon shout. Nothing made sense to Rainbow until the human threw the purple ball straight at her. It seemed like slow-motion as Rainbow tried to flap her wings hard enough to get out of range. But they were still hurting from the yellow mouse's attack, and every flap brought Rainbow immense pain. The ball hurtled at a perfect trajectory. Rainbow braced herself for impact.

The impact came. But it wasn't the Pokeball. It was Flygon. The Pokémon threw herself in front of Rainbow. "I'm sorry," Flygon whispered. The Pokeball stopped in midair, and opened. A bright red light came out of it. The light targeted Flygon, and completely surrounded her. The red light retreated back into the purple Pokeball. When the light disappeared, Flygon wasn't there anymore. Where did she go?

Suddenly, Rainbow realized what happened to Flygon. "NO!" she screamed, diving to catch the falling Pokeball. She succeeded. Rainbow held the Pokeball between her hoofs, her heart sinking. Remembering the human and the electric mouse, Rainbow desperately tried to fly away. But her painful wings refused to cooperate, and she fell to the ground.

"No! That was my only Master Ball!" The human said, enraged. Rainbow knew that she couldn't get away. Carefully holding the Master Ball in her mouth, Rainbow prepared to fight. As soon as she decided to, she felt a weird presence hovering inside her mind. It seemed to say four things: Rain Dance, Fly, Thunder, and Sonic Rainboom. For some reason, Rainbow felt as if she could _do_ those things. Vaguely, she remembered something Flygon said about Pokémon...their moves! Those must be her moves! Rainbow felt a boost in confidence. Maybe she could fight off the human and its slave Pokémon.

Rainbow was about to use Thunder when she thought of something. Why was Fly a move? Could she fly without hurting her wings? Well, it was worth a shot.

"Fly!" Rainbow yelled around the Master Ball in her mouth. Her wings glowed, and all the pain vanished. Grinning, Rainbow leaped into the air.

"Pikachu! Make sure it doesn't get away!" The human ordered. Pikachu jumped into the air and grabbed hold of Rainbow's leg. Pikachu climbed up Rainbow and managed to pry the Master Ball out of her mouth.

"Stop!" Rainbow pleaded. "Don't you know that you're being enslaved? Don't you want to fight back?!"

Pikachu shook his head violently. "No. Ash is my trainer and friend." But Pikachu's voice sounded too robotic and trance-like to be telling the truth. Rainbow flew even higher. Now, they were so high in the air, Rainbow couldn't spot the human, Ash.

Suddenly, something inside Pikachu seemed to snap. "W-what?" he cried, confused. "Where am I?"

Of course! The Pokeballs hypnotized Pokémon to think that they liked humans...but when the Pokémon gets too far away from its Pokeball, it returns to normal!

"You were captured," Rainbow explained to the dumbstruck Pikachu. "I think you were in a trance for a long time."

"I remember now," Pikachu said sadly. "I hate humans, and I especially hate Ash. When I got captured, I tried to fight back against the Pokeball. But it wore down on me, and I was forced to surrender." Pikachu looked down at the Master Ball in his hands. "I'm really sorry your friend was captured, too-what's your name?"

"I'm Rainbow Dash."

"I sure don't think I've ever seen a Pokémon like you, Rainbow Dash. Nice to meet ya...but I sure wish it could be under better circumstances."

Rainbow heard the human's annoying voice faintly. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Alarmed, Rainbow looked at Pikachu. He was twitching uncontrollably. He was trying to fight back.

Pikachu didn't succeed. Electricity radiated from his cheeks. "I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash," Pikachu cried as he released a Thunderbolt so strong that it made Rainbow drop to the ground like a stone. The last thing she saw was Pikachu, back in his trance, handing the Master Ball with Flygon inside to Ash.

Rainbow was the Element of Loyalty. She always felt the urge to protect all her friends. This time, she failed.


	14. Chapter 14: The Rift

**_Meanwhile, back in Ponyville..._**

* * *

Applejack glared at the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"C'mon girls, y'all have already tried gettin' your cutie marks from applebucking. And y'all know how THAT went."

"Nuh-uh!" Scootaloo begged. "We've tried helping in the barn, selling apples, plowing the fields, and making apple cider. But we haven't actually applebucked at all!"

"C'mon, big sis," Applebloom whined.

"And what if our cutie marks do come from applebucking?" Sweetie Bell added. "If we don't try, maybe we'll NEVER get our cutie marks! Please?" Try as she might, Applejack just couldn't deny the Crusaders.

"Oh, alright," Applejack sighed. "Y'all can do a little applebucking over by the back o' the farm. Just...just try not to straight out destroy the fields, kay?"

"Yes, ma'am," Scootaloo said, saluting. The Crusaders giggled as they dashed into the orchards.

Applejack sighed as she began her daily chores. She sure did feel sorry for those fillies for not getting their cutie marks yet. But all this crazy experimenting wasn't getting them anywhere!

After a few minutes, Applejack headed to the back of the orchard to check on the Crusaders. To her surprise, all the apples (and most of the leaves) on the trees were gone! Maybe the Crusaders weren't so bad at applebucking after all. Applejack spotted Applebloom and Sweetie Bell running towards her.

"Y'all did a mighty fine job," Applejack praised. "Did ya get your cutie mar- hey, where's Scootaloo?" The brown-and-pink pegasus wasn't with Sweetie Bell and Applebloom.

"Applejack!" Applebloom yelled. "There's big trouble!"

Applejack's eyes went wide. "What happened?"

"Come with us!" Sweetie Bell panicked. "Hurry!"

Applejack followed the two fillies to a clearing. At first, she saw nothing wrong. But when Applejack focused her eyes, she could see a tiny black dot hovering in midair. The air around the dot was distorted. It also seemed that a current was pulling things into the dot; leaves and apples off of the trees were disappearing into it.

"What in tarnation is that?" Applejack exclaimed.

"We don't know!" Sweetie Bell cried. "We were trying to applebuck when all the apples were being sucked in there. We went to check it out. Scootaloo went too close, and she got sucked in too!" Sweetie Bell began to sob.

Applejack's heart constricted with fear. "We've gotta tell the princesses. You two head on home, and I'm gonna see if I can't find Twilight at the library."

Applejack ran like the wind to the library. Sure enough, Princess Twilight and Spike were there, organizing the books.

"Hey, Applejack!" Spike called.

"Applejack, now is not the best time," Twilight said. "I'm really busy re-shelving the library."

"Twi, there's an emergency back at Sweet Apple Acres!"

"An emergency? What happened?"

Applejack told Twilight what had happened. "I was thinkin' that you'd know what was goin' on, Twi. You knowin' all this magic stuff."

"I honestly have no idea," Twilight said, her eyes wide. "Spike, you heard what happened, right? Write a letter to Princess Celestia immediately!"

"Sure!" The purple dragon rushed to find paper and a quill. When Spike was finished writing the letter, he breathed his green fire on it.

"Good," Twilight panted. "Hopefully the Princess will come soon."

After a minute, there was a knock on the door. Spike opened it, and there was Princess Celestia herself. Applejack and Spike bowed.

"I hope you've read my letter, Princess?" Twilight looked at Celestia eagerly.

"I have," Princess Celestia nodded, turning to Applejack. "Applejack, please lead us to the place where you found this 'black dot'."

"Of course, Yer Majesty," Applejack breathed. They all hurried to Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack led them to the clearing. The black dot was still there, consuming everything that came near it.

"Do you know what this is, Princess?" Twilight turned to Celestia hopefully.

"I might," Celestia answered. "And it's not good. This looks like a rift. Rifts tend to happen when a bit of time and space is broken. They used to happen a lot when Discord was ruling Equestria."

"So Discord is the cause of this ruckus!" Applejack growled.

"No, I don't believe he is," Celestia shook her head. "Rifts have to be incredibly powerful to be able to devour matter. Since Discord is being kept under careful watch now, there is no way he could cause enough chaos to create a rift this powerful. This may be a redundant question, but has anything happened recently that could cause a large shift in the dimensions?"

Applejack and Spike shook their heads. Twilight was about to do the same, but the word "dimensions" was bothering her. Then it hit her.

"Of course!" Twilight gasped. "Flygon!" Applejack gasped as well.

"What's a Flygon?" Spike wondered.

"Flygon was this pegasus that came a few days ago," Twilight explained. "She said she traveled here from another universe. We used the Elements of Harmony to create a portal machine to send her back. She's probably the cause of the rift!"

Celestia pondered that. "Did Flygon return to her universe?"

"Yup," Applejack confirmed. "Rainbow Dash went ta see her off."

"If she returned to her universe safely, there's no reason that the rift should still be here," Celestia said. "Are you sure she really left?"

"Sure as sugar, Your Majesty," Applejack nodded. "Like I said, Rainbow went ta see her off."

Just then, the two allicorns, the earth pony, and the dragon had the same idea at the exact same time.

"You don't think," Spike started.

"Nah, it can't be," Applejack huffed.

"Rainbow went with Flygon?" Twilight finished.

"It's entirely possible," Celestia sighed. "If Rainbow Dash is in fact in another universe right now, we'll just have to hope she gets back soon. After all, she controls the Element of Loyalty. If darkness advances, we'll be left defenseless without the full Elements of Harmony."

"Wait," Twilight froze. "Have any of you seen the necklace for the Element of Loyalty?"

"Nope," Applejack said.

"I haven't," Spike added.

For the first time ever, Celestia looked completely terrified. "If only Rainbow Dash is gone, then the rift will stay as it is. But if the Element of Loyalty isn't in this world, the rift will grow. It will swallow this entire world." Everybody was silent as the information sunk in.

"And there's nothing we can do about it," Twilight whimpered. "Oh, Rainbow, please come back."


	15. Chapter 15: Inside the Rift

_Everything was nothing, and nothing was everything._

_Scootaloo couldn't see, move, or think clearly. She was tumbling slowly in a grey mist, head over hoofs. It almost felt like flying. But not quite. There was no tickle of the wind on her face, or joy as she flapped her wings. _

_Everything was nothing, and nothing was everything._

_Of course, Scootaloo was only imagining how flying felt. She had never flown before._

_Suddenly, a rush of thoughts erupted in Scootaloo's mind. Not thoughts of the present. Thoughts of the past. A flashback._

Scootaloo stood in the line, her heart pounding. It was time for the flying test. Whenever pegasi became old enough for their wings to work, they took the test. They were kicked out of the sky, to see if they could recover and come back into the clouds. If they passed the test, they immediately got enrolled in flight school. And if they didn't...well, the officials didn't sugarcoat anything. The pegusi that couldn't fly just fell. No one rescued them. They were a waste to society. They usually died.

Pegasus after pegasus were kicked out into the open sky. Scootaloo wished that fifty other pegasi would cut her in line. Her breathing was fast and panicked.

"Scootaloo," the tester barked, motioning her forward. But Scootaloo couldn't move. Her legs were frozen.

"I said, Scootaloo!" the tester growled, grabbing the filly by her neck. "Is that your name or not?!"

Scootaloo's head twitched. The tester took that for a yes. Without any remorse, he threw the brown-and-pink filly towards the ground.

Scootaloo tried to scream as she hurtled through the air. But her voice wasn't working. Neither were her wings. Scootaloo was one of the best fliers out of all her friends. But now, she was paralyzed in fear. She couldn't fly.

She wailed inside her mind as she span towards the hard ground. She pleaded in her mind for her wings to unfold, to coast through the air and show the tester who was boss. But it was useless. As the clouds grew smaller and smaller, Scootaloo grew hopeless. Eventually, she surrendered to gravity. She closed her eyes as the ground approached.

Scootaloo hit the ground with a sickening crunch in her bones. An explosion of pain finally got her voice to activate. She shrieked as her leg and wing bones cracked, rolled and shifted around in places where they shouldn't be. Behind the red blur of pain, Scootaloo saw a blue pegasus with a rainbow mane zoom towards the sound of her cries.

"Hey, are you okay?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking down at Scootaloo. Scootaloo could never forget the shock on Rainbow's face as she registered Scootaloo's tiny wings and legs, twisted, bent, broken, mangled.

"Oh, no..." Rainbow gasped, swooping down and kneeling next to the little filly. "Did you fall?" Scootaloo nodded weakly. Rainbow Dash already knew what happened to Scootaloo. The flying test. The pegasi kept their cruel ways a secret from the residents of Ponyville and Canterlot. But the pegasi that took the test never forgot it. Gently, Rainbow picked up Scootaloo. But that brought another blast of pain. Scootaloo moaned, letting unconsciousness consume her.

When Scootaloo opened her eyes again, she was alone in a cold, white hospital room. She tried to fly away, but was restrained by countless bandages and bars that held her down. There was nopony there. The only thing that kept her company was the beeps monitoring her heartbeat. She was alone.

_The flashback faded, and Scootaloo was left spinning in the grey mist. Alone. Just like the hospital room. But there wasn't even a beeping to measure her heartbeat. Maybe she was dead. _

_Everything was nothing, and nothing was everything._

_She couldn't measure time. It could have been months or only minutes, and Scootaloo wouldn't be able to tell the difference. But soon, another flashback came._

For months as Scootaloo recovered in Ponyville Hospital, Rainbow Dash was always there for her. The rainbow pegasus brought in games and activities for the two to play. As Scootaloo became able to travel, Rainbow took her around in her wheelchair to all the hotspots in Ponyville. Rainbow was almost like the perfect big sister to respect and revere.

A month had passed since Scootaloo failed the flying test. She lied down still on a metal table as Doctor Hooves prodded her muscles and bones. He took some notes and left the room to talk to the nurse outside. Scootaloo could faintly hear what they were saying.

"Look at her, lying motionless on that table. It's just not natural for a young pegasus to be so calm," the nurse said, pursing her lips.

"She's traumatized," Doctor Hooves explained sadly. "I doubt she'll ever act like a true pegasus again. I was examining her wing muscles..." The doctor whispered something in the nurse's ear that made her jump in shock.

"Oh, the poor dear," the nurse cried.

"Somepony has to tell her," Doctor Hooves sighed.

"How about that pegasus-what's her name-Rainbow Dash? Those two seem to get along well."

Scootaloo didn't know what was going on. The nurse walked in and helped Scootaloo into her wheelchair and back to her hospital room, where Rainbow Dash was waiting.

"Hey, Scoots," Rainbow grinned, using the nickname she made up for the filly. "How did the examination go?"

Scootaloo was about to speak when the nurse rushed Rainbow outside. When they came back in, Rainbow looked guilty and heartbroken. The nurse left, and Rainbow sat down next to Scootaloo.

"What's wrong?" Scootaloo inquired.

"Look, Scoots," Rainbow began. "The nurse was telling me about your examination. She said that your legs will heal fine, but your wings...well, the muscles were torn to pieces, and now they've grown back wrong. They're too weak to function. I-it means that you won't be able to fly again. Ever." Rainbow Dash looked down at her hoofs.

It took a couple seconds for the information to sink in. When it did, it hit Scootaloo like a wall at full speed. She would never be able to fly again. Ever. Never to feel the wind on her face, or the drop in her stomach with a free-fall.

She cried. She screamed and sobbed and beat her pillow. Rainbow Dash kept her arm around Scootaloo the whole time, tears spilling out of her eyes as well.

Most ponies thought Scootaloo's worshipping of Rainbow Dash was because of her amazing flying skills. But that wasn't all.

_Scootaloo was crying in the grey mist when all the thoughts melted away. She wanted to escape, to come back to the normal world that had ponies like Rainbow Dash. But she was trapped in the grey mist. She was trapped in the rift._


	16. Chapter 16: The Dream

Rainbow Dash knew instantly that she was dreaming.

After all, she was staring straight at all the Princesses: Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and Twilight.

"Rainbow Dash, is that you?" Princess Celestia asked.

"Uh...yeah, it's me," Rainbow stuttered. She knew that the Princesses could use magic to walk in pony's dreams. But why were they here?

"You look different from the last time we saw you," Cadence said with a weak smile. It took a second for Rainbow to figure out what Cadence meant. She was completely used to her new body now.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Twilight exclaimed, unable to contain herself. "We were all so worried that something happened to you!"

"Nah, I'm fine," Rainbow grinned. "You know I'd never get hurt."

Luna sniffed. "I suppose you don't know why we're in your dreams?"

"I thought you all wanted to see if I was okay."

Celestia sighed. "That's part of the reason, of course. But there's trouble in Equestria, and we need you to find your way back immediately. That's why we contacted you."

"But since this world is so far from Equestria," Luna explained, "we can't hold the communication for much longer."

Rainbow stiffened. "O-okay. Quick, tell me what's going on."

"When you left our world wearing the Element of Loyalty, the order of the universes lost balance," Twilight explained grimly. "It's causing a rift in time and space. If the balance isn't restored soon, the rift will grow and destroy our universe."

"Also, our calculations have shown that an identical rift is destroying the world you're currently in," Luna added. "Our world has one too few Elements. This world has one too many."

Princess Celestia stepped forward. "What were you thinking when you left our universe?!"

"It was an accident! I swear!"

"We believe you," Princess Cadence said. But as she said this, Cadence's image began to flicker. She couldn't hold on to the magic much longer.

"This is your mission, Rainbow Dash," Princess Celestia ordered. "Find this world's version of the Elements of Harmony. Then, use them to create a portal back to Equestria. Once you return, the rifts will disappear. Do you understand?"

"I do," Rainbow replied. "But with all due respect, Your Majesties, I have to find and rescue Flygon first. She got captured by these evil things called 'humans.'"

Cadence faded away. Then, Twilight began to flicker.

The three remaining princesses looked at Rainbow guiltily.

"I'm sorry, Rainbow," the distorted Twilight said. "I know you want to save Flygon, but we don't have much time!"

Princess Twilight disappeared. Princess Luna took her place. "We only have an estimated three days until the rifts destroy everything," Luna stated. "Getting back to Equestria is the absolute number one priority. Do not let us down."

Celestia and Luna started to blur. "We're counting on you, Rainbow Dash," Celestia murmured. "The fate of both universes is in your hoofs."


	17. Chapter 17: Betrayal

"Rainbow Dash...Rainbow Dash, you must wake up..." A voice cut through Rainbow's dream. A male, familiar voice. It couldn't be...Sceptile?

Rainbow peeled her heavy eyes open. The gigantic green lizard was shaking her by the shoulders.

"Sceptile? Why are you here?" Rainbow was still in the same place where Flygon was captured. She wasn't sure how much time had passed since she was unconscious.

"I was gathering food for my friend Butterfree's young. Then, I saw you fainted here. What happened? Where's Flygon?"

Rainbow's eyes widened. She knew Sceptile was super protective of Flygon. He would probably go crazy if he found out Flygon was captured.

"She...um...She wanted to...go to...uh..." Rainbow tried to lie, but she was never a good at it. "Flygon...Flygon was captured. By humans." Rainbow sighed, the truth escaping her mouth. She braced herself for Sceptile's rage.

But it didn't come. Instead, Sceptile sunk to the ground in dismay. "Why?" He moaned. "Why her?"

"Y-you're not angry at me?" Rainbow stuttered.

A tear dropped out of one of Sceptile's yellow eyes. "No, I'm not. It's not your fault, Rainbow Dash. It's mine. For letting her go."

The two comforted each other for a while. Then, Rainbow remembered the dream that the princesses sent her.

"Hey, Sceptile," Rainbow called to the heartbroken Pokémon. "Sorry to change the subject, but have you ever heard of the Elements of Harmony?"

Sceptile looked up. "Elements of Harmony? No. I have not heard of those. But I do know a little about the Elements of Pokémon."

"What? The Elements of Pokémon?" Rainbow repeated.

"Yes. There are eighteen, each representing a Pokémon type. They are closely guarded by the two wandering Pokémon, Latios and Latias." Sceptile paused. "Why do you want to know this?"

Rainbow told Sceptile everything about the dream. She told him about the princesses, the two rifts, and why she needed to find the Elements of Pokémon.

"I see." Sceptile thought for a second. "So, that thing around your neck is one of your Elements of Harmony?"

"Yep. Do you know where the Elements of Pokémon might be?"

"Latios and Latias aren't called the two wandering Pokémon for nothing. They are nomads, traveling the world and using the Elements of Pokémon to help creatures in need. They can sense Pokémon that need their help."

"Oh," Rainbow sniffed. "So I won't be able to find them easily."

"Exactly," Sceptile agreed. "And that is why your mission is hopeless."

"I wouldn't say hopeless," Rainbow muttered. "We still have three days. Maybe we can find the Elements of Pokémon if we look hard enough."

"I do not agree with you, Rainbow Dash. Latias and Latios don't just appear to anyone. In fact, they hide from everyone. Finding them is impossible. There's only one way we can stop this world from ending."

"And what's that?" Rainbow asked curiously.

"I'm sorry I have to do this, Rainbow Dash," Sceptile sighed.

"Huh?"

"Vine Whip!" Sceptile shouted. Long, thick, green vines shot from his hand. They knocked Rainbow back against a tree. Then, they began to tie Rainbow to the tree. Once she was completely wrapped in the vines, Sceptile stopped shooting them and tied a complicated knot so Rainbow Dash wouldn't escape. Then, he carefully removed the Element of Loyalty from Rainbow's neck.

Rainbow growled, struggling against the vines. But it was no use. They were thicker than rope. "Why are you doing this?!" She screamed at Sceptile.

"Don't you get it?" Sceptile spat, tossing the Element of Loyalty and catching it. "There's no chance of you magically finding the two hidden guardians of the Elements of Pokémon. So there's only one solution. If I destroy your Element of Harmony, your world will perish. But this one will be spared."

"You can't do this!" Rainbow shrieked. "Besides, breaking the Element of Loyalty won't do a thing! It's spirit lives inside me."

Sceptile pondered that for a second. "Then I will kill you too," he said with a shrug.

Rainbow gaped at him.

"I'm not evil," Sceptile sighed. "I'm only doing what's best for this world. I don't want to kill you. But I have no choice. Leaf Blade!"

The leaves on Sceptile's arms glowed and elongated into long, sharp blades. "Goodbye, Rainbow Dash," Sceptile smirked as he approached.


	18. Chapter 18: Latias

Rainbow braced herself as Sceptile loomed over her. But suddenly, a female voice shouted, "Mist Ball!" Both Rainbow and Sceptile looked around, searching for the source of the voice. Then, a ball of white energy hit Sceptile squarely in the chest and sent him flying. Someone was attacking!

Rainbow desperately struggled against the vines.

"Don't worry!" The voice called. "I'm here to save you!" A Pokémon seemed to appear out of a patch of fog. She looked like a red-and-white bird, with a blue triangle on its chest. She flew forward and sliced the vines with her talons. Rainbow fell to the ground.

"Thanks," Rainbow exclaimed gratefully, stretching out her legs. "You saved my life there. Literally! Uh...who are you?"

"I'm Latias!" the Pokémon said with a smile. "But now that I'm done helping you, I have to go now. Or else my brother will get really angry at me. Bye-bye!"

It took a few seconds for Rainbow to process her luck. But by then, Latias had faded back into the fog.

"Wait!" Rainbow pleaded. "Don't go! I still need your help!" Rainbow zoomed into the patch of fog, trying to grab hold of the invisible Pokémon. It was no use. Latias was gone. But after a minute, she reappeared in front of Rainbow.

"You...you still need my help?" Latias asked, confused. "Why?"

Rainbow quickly told Latias everything about the rifts and how the worlds were going to end in three days. Latias stood (floated, really) there dumbfounded once Rainbow was finished.

"Oh, no!" Latias cried. "My brother and I sensed a disturbance in the balance of the Elements of Pokémon, but I didn't know it was this bad!"

"I know," Rainbow agreed. "And that's why I need the Elements of Pokémon. So I can make another portal."

Latias thought about it. "I'm not supposed to show anyone where the Elements are..."

"Please, Latias! We're talking about a life-death situation here!"

Latias nodded. "You're right, I guess. I'll get you the Elements in a jiffy."

Latias closed her eyes, concentrating hard. Soon, a fancy, embroidered box materialized in front of her. "Here. These are the Elements of Pokémon!"

Rainbow snatched the box in midair and opened it. There were nine large, cut jewels in it. Each one was cut in a different shape. There was a lightning bolt, a skull, a circle, a bug, a pile of dirt, a dragon, a rock, a fist, and a little happy face.

"What are these?" Rainbow mused.

"They're the Elements of Electric, Poison, Normal, Bug, Ground, Dragon, Rock, Fighting, and Fairy. Those are all Pokémon types!"

"Hold on a sec. I thought there were EIGHTEEN Elements."

"Yup! My brother Latios has the other nine!"

Rainbow nodded thoughtfully. "Ok. So we're going to go find your brother?"

"Spot on! Let's go!" Latias grinned. She arced gracefully into the air and began to fly. Rainbow leaped up and began to follow her. Latias was fast. Really fast. Rainbow had trouble keeping up with her. Why were Pokémon such good fliers?!

"Ooh!" Latias squealed. "I forgot to ask you your name!"

"I'm Rainbow Dash." Rainbow decided to leave out the part that she was the best flier in Equestria. It just didn't seem to matter anymore. All that mattered was that she stopped the rifts.

"Rainbow Dash?" Latias repeated, spinning around to stare at Rainbow. "Great! Now we'll know what to put on the cake if we have a welcome party!"

"A...welcome party?"

"Obviously! A 'Welcome to Our Dimension' party!"

Rainbow chuckled. It seemed like she had found the alternate-universe version of Pinkie Pie.


	19. Chapter 19: The Elements of Pokemon

"We're almost there," Latias announced. "Latios is nearby!"

Rainbow looked around. They were flying over a barren wasteland, without any life. "How can you tell?" Rainbow asked suspiciously.

"See, we have radar," Latias explained, imitating a radio signal. "We can sense Pokémon in trouble, and we can also sense each other."

"Awesome!"

Latias swiftly dived down to the ground. Rainbow followed.

"Latios!" Latias shouted to the air. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

A Pokémon appeared out of nowhere. He looked like Latias, except he was blue and a bit bigger.

"Latias!" Latios flew forward and embraced his little sister. "It's been a while." Latios turned around and noticed Rainbow. He growled at her, taking on an offensive stance.

"Stop, brother!" Latias threw herself in front of Rainbow. "This is Rainbow Dash. She's my new friend!"

Latios stared at Rainbow in disbelief. "New...friend? Latias, what did I tell you about showing yourself to people?!"

"I know, I know," Latias sighed. "After you help someone, go invisible. But she's different! She needs our help to save the world! Remember that distortion we felt in the Elements?" Latias went on to explain what happened with the rifts.

After Latias was finished with her explanation, Latios flew close up to Rainbow. He looked into her eyes, and Rainbow felt almost as if he was probing her mind.

"Uh...hey," Rainbow stuttered, feeling very uncomfortable.

Latios snorted once he was finished. "Well, she's egotistical, but certainly not evil."

Rainbow blinked in surprise. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Were you just reading my mind?"

A hint of a smile spread on Latios's face. "Yes, I was. And it was very interesting."

Rainbow shuffled her hoofs, embarrassed. "So, are you going to give me the rest of the Elements of Pokémon or not?"

"I will," Latios confirmed. "But I'm not sure how much of a help they will be. I doubt that they're powerful enough to create a portal between dimensions."

"It never hurts to try!" Latias butted in. Latios shrugged. He closed his eyes and concentrated. Another embroidered box appeared, similar to Latias's.

Rainbow opened the box. There were nine more Elements of Pokémon inside. There was a leaf, a flame, a water droplet, a hypnotic swirl, a moon, an evil-looking spirit, an icicle, a sword, and a connected pair of wings.

"Those are the Elements for Grass, Fire, Water, Psychic, Dark, Ghost, Ice, Steel, and Flying," Latias said. "More Pokémon types."

"Cool. So, um...do your thing, I guess," Rainbow ordered awkwardly.

The two Pokémon nodded. They took the eighteen Elements of Pokémon from both boxes. The Elements began to glow brighter and brighter, until Rainbow had to cover her eyes. But then, with a sputtering noise, the light from the Elements flickered and stopped.

"What happened?" Rainbow asked.

"See?" Latios said. "The Elements just aren't strong enough to make a portal. You'll have to find another way."

"Wait!" Latias wondered. "The Elements of Pokémon are definitely just as powerful as the Elements of Harmony. So how did you get to our world in the first place?"

"Well, we didn't use the Elements of Harmony to directly create a portal," Rainbow reasoned. "We used them to create a portal MACHINE."

"Then let's do the same thing," Latios suggested. "I'll read your mind to figure out what the portal machine was, and then we'll recreate it." Latios looked into Rainbow's mind again, and she felt that weird probing feeling.

After a few seconds, Latios shook his head. "No, this won't work. Rainbow Dash, you only know what the machine looked like. You have no idea how it worked."

"Nope. But I do know someone who does..." Rainbow remembered then that Flygon had gotten captured, and her heart ached. "But she got captured by humans."

Latios growled in frustration. "That complicates things. Do you have any idea where this Pokémon is now?"

"No," Rainbow sighed. "No idea."

Latios looked like he was about to burst in anger. "This Pokémon is our only hope to save the world. We will find her."

"We can use our radar to find her!" Latias proposed. "Rainbow, tell us what she was like. Then, we might be able to track her!"

"Her name's Flygon," Rainbow began, her heart swelling with hope. "She's big and green."

"No, not her appearance," Latios said, exasperated. "Her personality."

Rainbow thought about it for a while. "Well, she's very smart, and calculating. She acts all nonchalant and urgent, but on the inside, she really cares for her family and friends. She'll do anything to keep them safe. Even if it means sacrificing herself." By the end, Rainbow was holding back tears.

Latias and Latios nodded in understanding. "I'm getting a signal!" Latias squealed. "But it's very faint."

"Keep talking," said Latios.

"She can be super serious. Too serious, sometimes. She makes goals and makes sure to follow through with them. She probably hates to admit it, but she likes having a good time too."

"Perfect!" Latias grinned. "We're getting a clear signal. She's not too far away!"

"What are we waiting for, then?" Rainbow flapped her wings.

"Maybe for morning?" Latios said sarcastically. It was starting to get dark.

Latias sensed Rainbow's doubt about not looking for Flygon immediately. "Don't worry! We still have two whole days after this. She's close, so finding her will be a pinch tomorrow!"

"Alright," Rainbow agreed, stifling a yawn. "I am getting pretty tired. But what will we sleep in?"

Latios pointed to a large tree about fifty yards away. "We'll sleep in that tree. The leaves will protect us from cold or rain."

"Whatever," Rainbow said, flying towards the tree. She had slept in trees before.

Once the three were settled in, Latias turned to Rainbow. "Nighty-night!" she beamed, and then fell asleep.

"Goodnight," Rainbow chuckled. She was in a good mood. "Tomorrow, we find Flygon."


	20. Chapter 20: Beneath the Hatred

Rainbow felt someone poking her flank.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash! Hey, Rainbow Dash! Wake up, Rainbow Dash!" It was Latias.

"I'm up, I'm up," Rainbow grunted. "Why so early?" The sun was just rising. Usually, Rainbow slept far into the afternoon.

"Oh, I don't know," Latios said sarcastically. "Maybe because the world ends in two days?"

Rainbow remembered with a jolt what their mission was. "Shut it, Latios," she muttered, embarrassed. Latios glared at her.

Latias blinked, sensing the tension between the two. She also sensed something else, but she couldn't quite figure out what it was. "Um...we got breakfast for you," Latias motioned to the pile of fruit she and her brother gathered, trying to change the subject.

"Thanks. Wait. Aren't you going to have some, too?"

"We already ate," Latios replied smugly. "And don't eat too much. Wouldn't want you being too heavy to fly."

Rainbow wolfed down her food, seething. Why did Latios have to be so freaking judgmental? Rainbow knew that she should hate him with a passion. But that wasn't what she felt. She felt the need to impress him, to make him like her. Rainbow tried to rid these feelings from her mind. If she...liked Latios, that would be a huge weakness. He obviously didn't feel the same way...did he? Maybe she would try being nice to him. That could bring out his soft side...No! Rainbow Dash did not go doting after stallions! Or Pokémon, in this case. But still!

Rainbow snapped up the last piece of fruit. "Let's go," she announced. "Is Flygon still close?"

"Yup!" Latias answered. "She's in this human city called Sunyshore City. It's several hours away."

"Good. Let's fly!"

The three Pokémon took to the air. They didn't talk much during their flight, except to turn or hide in a cloud from human eyes. Latias was still puzzling over the weird feeling she had sensed between her brother and Rainbow Dash. They didn't seem to like each other very much (that was to be expected, her brother hated almost everyone), but she knew there was something beneath. Latias just couldn't figure it out, so she decided to ask Latios.

She flew up to him and whispered in his ear. "What do you think of Rainbow Dash?"

Latios shrugged. "She's kind of annoying. And spoiled. And lazy. I don't think she should be coming with us. From what I've seen in her thoughts, she has no battle experience at all. She's going to hold us back, I'm sure of it." Latios looked down uncomfortably. Luckily, Rainbow Dash was out of earshot.

Latias thought hard. The way the two argued, they way they Latios looked down when talking about her... Latias covered her mouth to keep herself from gasping. They were crushing on each other!

"Ha!" Latias gloated to her brother. "You don't think she's useless. You want to protect her!"

"Th-that's not true!" Latios stuttered. "I do not! I mean, um, I do, but I don't care about her. She's just important so we can save the world."

"Yeah, sure," Latias giggled. "You like her, don't you?"

"I. DO. NOT." Latios shouted, looking at his sister with blazing eyes. Latias just laughed. She knew she was right. Besides, her brother would never hurt her.

"What's goin' on?" Rainbow asked, flapping hard to keep up. She had heard Latios's shouting.

Latias opened her mouth to unite the two lovebirds, but Latios covered her mouth before she could speak. "It's nothing," Latios spat, looking his sister in the eye while emphasizing the word "nothing."

"Whatever," Rainbow sighed. Sibling drama.


	21. Chapter 21: Sunyshore City

Rainbow Dash growled as she sat dejected on a tree branch. Latias and Latios decided to rescue Flygon alone after they realized Rainbow couldn't turn invisible, and therefore would attract human attention. They had a point. But Rainbow was furious anyway.

Meanwhile, Latios and Latias were invisible, flying over Sunyshore City.

"Where is Flygon?" Latios asked. His sister had better senses than him. She always joked that "you have to have emotions to sense them." Latios was always frustrated by this. He had emotions! He had enough hatred to cover for every other emotion. He hated humans, and Pokémon that were terrified of humans. But maybe he had to have other emotions, too. Like caring. He cared for his sister. But who else? Rainbow Dash, maybe...what was he thinking? Did he really care for the dimension-traveler? But even if he did, he probably wouldn't get any caring in return. It was obvious that Rainbow Dash despised him. Besides, if everything went well, she would be leaving very soon.

"The human who has her is in the Pokémon Gym," Latias answered, snapping him out of his deep thoughts. Latios nodded, withholding his hatred for Gyms. Gyms were places where humans went to force their enslaved Pokémon to battle each other. The thought of it made Latios want to scream.

The two invisible Pokémon flew to where the Gym was. It was an outdoor stadium. "I have a plan," Latios announced. "We'll wait until it's the human's turn to battle. Then, when he sends out Flygon, we'll grab her and fly out of the stadium."

"Great!" Latias agreed. The two flew into the stadium, where they waited patiently.

After a few rounds of battling, the human who had Flygon finally came to battle the Gym Leader. He was a young human, with messy black hair and an enslaved Pikachu sitting on his shoulder.

"Go, Electivire!" The Gym Leader shouted, sending out an Electivire, a humongous yellow-and-black furred beast. It was an Electric type. The human would be stupid not to send out Flygon.

"Go, Staraptor!" The human replied to Latios's surprise. He sent out a Staraptor, a fierce black-and-white bird with a red comb.

"You've got to be kidding me," Latios muttered. "How thick is this kid?" Staraptor, a Flying type, would have no chance against Electivire.

"Oh, I dunno," Latias reasoned. "Maybe he believes in his Pokémon, and thinks they can do anything together."

"I really hope you were being sarcastic there."

Latias shrugged. Her brother was just too stubborn to see from other's viewpoints.

Electivire dispatched Staraptor easily with a Thunder Punch. Then, the human finally sent out Flygon, a pea-green reptile with diamond-shaped wings and a long, striped tail.

"There she is!" Latios exclaimed. "Let's get her and get out of here."

Latias looked at her brother with pleading eyes (even though it was useless because she was invisible). "But what about all the other captured Pokémon? Can't we save them, too?"

Latios sighed. His sister was being all righteous and fair, like always. "I'm sorry. But we just can't save everyone now. Maybe...maybe we'll try to once all this end-of-the-world stuff is over. So, are you with me or not?"

"I'm with you, brother. Always." Latias gave him a hug. Talk about sappy.

The two flew zoomed into the arena and grabbed Flygon on either side. They began to pull her up and out of the stadium. Once they got high enough in the air, the Pokeball-induced trance would break. But that was easier said than done. Flygon squirmed and kicked the invisible Pokémon, shouting, "Let go of me," in a dull voice. Flygon managed to land a strong Dragon Claw on Latias, and she screamed in pain, losing focus and becoming visible.

"Latias!" Latios panicked, letting go of Flygon. "Retreat!" Latios flew high above the stadium. But then he realized Latias wasn't with him! She was struggling to fly away after being hurt by the Dragon Claw, and having to dodge moves from Electivire and Flygon. Latios flew down to help her, unfortunately losing control over his invisibility as well. Latios fired two Dragon Pulses to stall Electivire and Flygon.

"Get out of here!" Latios commanded to Latias. "I'll be right behind you." Latias bolted skyward. Latios was about to follow when Flygon hit him with a Dragon Claw from behind. It was super effective, and made him lose altitude. As soon as he did, Electivire jumped up and hit him with an Ice Punch. Latios felt stars explode in front of his eyes, and tried to stay conscious. He managed to, but what he saw was terrifying. All the humans who were watching from the sidelines sent out their Pokémon, too. The slave Pokémon surrounded him and pummeled him with all sorts of different moves. Latios looked up and saw his sister coming down to save him. If she came down, she would be attacked, too. Latios made eye contact with her and shook his head sadly. He didn't want her risking her life to preserve his. Thankfully, Latias didn't come down. But she closed her eyes and concentrated hard. Through the endless pain of the numerous Pokémon attacking, he felt a burst of energy. Latias was transferring her energy to him.

As soon as enough energy was built up, Latios released a gigantic Luster Purge, knocking out some of the Pokémon near him. But there were too many. Latios couldn't fight them. He looked around frantically for a solution. Then, he saw an air vent. Narrowly missing more attacks, Latios zoomed into the air vent. The Pokémon tried to follow him, but they couldn't fit in the vent. Latios sighed in relief, crawling into the vent to find an exit. But when he found the one exit, the hole was too small for him to fit! And on the other side were the Pokémon who were trying to kill him. Latios gulped and tried to sense his sister. She was extremely worried about him, but she was fine. That was all that mattered. He didn't care if he was trapped here as long as Latias was safe. But all the same, he felt helpless and scared. And for the first time ever, he began to cry.


	22. Chapter 22: Rescue

Rainbow tapped her hoof on the tree branch impatiently. What was taking Latias and Latios so long? By measuring the sun's progress across the sky, it had been at least half an hour. She would've fallen asleep long ago (after all, she definitely wasn't getting enough naptime recently), but she was worried about the two, and it was keeping her awake.

Suddenly, she spotted Latias flying to her. Her sharp eyes noticed that Latias was having some trouble flying, as if she was injured. What happened? Where were Latios and Flygon?

Latias landed next to her and whimpered in pain. "Brother..." she coughed, closing her eyes.

"Latias!" Rainbow cried, rushing to her help. She was hurt. Rainbow rolled her over and her stomach turned when she saw the wound. Something had clawed Latias, and though the three gashes weren't deep, they were bleeding and seemed to radiate with dangerous energy. Rainbow knew immediately that this wasn't an ordinary injury; the injury came from a Pokémon move. Rainbow began to panic. Sure, she had some medical training (it was protocol for being on the weather team), but she'd never been in a real situation where somepony was hurt.

Rainbow calmed herself with deep breathing. Okay. First, she had to wash the wound to make sure it wouldn't get infected. Rainbow flew around, looking for a source of clean water, but she couldn't find anything. She'd have to skip that step. What next? She had to patch up the gash. Rainbow found some soft, springy moss growing on the tree. That could work. She tore off clumps of the moss and pressed it on the scratches. Next step. Apply pressure. Rainbow sheathed her claws and pushed down the moss. After a minute, the blood flow stopped. Rainbow removed the moss and gasped in surprise. The wound had already scabbed over completely. Pokémon must have been REALLY fast healers.

Latias opened her eyes slowly. "Rainbow...Dash?"

"Yeah, I'm here."

"My...brother...Latios..."

"Where is he?" Rainbow pressed.

"Trapped..."

"Where is he trapped?" Rainbow asked, trying to stay calm.

"In the Gym...he's stuck in the air vent."

Rainbow spread her wings. "Okay. I'm gonna go save him."

"No...wait!" Latias grabbed Rainbow's left hind leg before she could take off. "I'm coming with you, right?"

"Uh, I don't know," Rainbow said. Although the wound was little more than three red marks now, Latias had lost a lot of blood. She seemed to be very tired.

"Please...I have to come with you," Latias pleaded. "You don't know what the Gym looks like. And you'll need help rescuing Latios and Flygon."

"Alright, you can come," Rainbow sighed. "But be careful, okay?"

"Okey dokey!" Latias said, springing into the air with her normal pep.

The two of them flew into the city. They hid in clouds so humans wouldn't see them. Eventually, they came to the Gym, what looked like an open battle arena.

"Um...this doesn't look like a gym," Rainbow whispered to Latias.

"It's not the kind of gym you exercise in," Latias whispered back. "It's where humans force Pokémon to fight each other."

"That's just sick," Rainbow growled. If she didn't have to leave to stop the rifts, she would stay in this world and make sure every human got a taste of her Pokémon claws. "Where's Latios?"

"Look." Rainbow saw a crowd of large, threatening Pokémon packed around an entrance to an air vent. She spotted Flygon in the crowd, and her heart swelled to see that her friend was safe.

"Okay, here's the plan," Rainbow breathed. "I'll fly in and create a distraction, leading the Pokémon away from Latios. Then, you turn invisible and get him out of there, and the two of you will get Flygon. Got it?"

"Got it!" Latias flexed her wings. "But promise you won't get hurt."

"Hey, this is Rainbow Dash you're talking about," Rainbow grinned, her ego showing. "Like I'd ever get hurt."

Latias giggled. "Just making sure!"

"Alright, I'll count us down. Three...two...one...GO!"

Rainbow zoomed down into the stadium, screaming, "COME AND GET ME, LOSERS!" The group of Pokeball-entranced Pokémon roared and ran to catch her. Rainbow flitted away from them, while avoiding moves that were shot at her and numerous Pokeballs thrown by the humans watching from the sidelines. Rainbow was riding the adrenaline wave, and she loved it. She had never felt this excited in her whole life. Racing didn't compare to zooming around, dodging energy beams and Pokeballs.

Suddenly, she heard someone approaching from behind, and she did a loop-de-loop to dodge the coming attacker. She narrowly missed a pair of talons meant to rake across her face. It was Flygon! Flygon was in midair, chasing after her. Flygon fired Hyper Beams, Dragon Claws, and Sky Drops at her. Rainbow tried to outmaneuver Flygon, but then she remembered that they had equal flying skills. Rainbow gulped, realizing the only solution was battling Flygon. First, Rainbow flew high up into the air to make sure no other Pokémon would interfere the battle. She and Flygon faced each other, waiting for one to make the first move.

"Rain Dance!" Rainbow shouted. A violent rainstorm was summoned in an instant. The thick clouds seemed to obscure Flygon's vision, but Rainbow could see fine.

"Sky Drop," Flygon growled, trying to grab hold of Rainbow and smash her into the ground. But Rainbow dodged easily.

"Thunder!" Rainbow countered. The Thunder hit Flygon, but it didn't seem to do a thing. Rainbow face-hoofed, remembering that Electric moves didn't hurt Flygon.

Now, Flygon realized where Rainbow was in the dark gray clouds. "Hyper Beam!" Flygon fired a Hyper Beam at Rainbow. Rainbow barely got out of the way in time. The Hyper Beam singed her feathers and mane.

"Fly!" Rainbow shouted, charging at Flygon with glowing wings.

"Dragon Claw!" The two hit each other at the same time, both getting damaged.

"Sky Drop!" Flygon tried again to grab Rainbow, and this time she succeeded.

"Fly!" Rainbow screamed, trying to counter Flygon pushing her to the ground. Rainbow managed to shove Flygon away.

"Hyper Beam!" Flygon shouted, this time hitting Rainbow. The Hyper Beam felt like energy pouring into Rainbow, but the energy was hostile. It attacked her from the inside. Rainbow shrieked in pain. She couldn't hold on much longer. Where were Latios and Latias?

"Sonic Rainboom!" Rainbow shouted, expecting to generate the normal explosion. But instead of her being part of the rainbow blast, she actually fired a rainbow at Flygon. Once the rainbow hit, it exploded into a Sonic Rainboom. Awesome! She could use Sonic Rainboom as a ranged attack!

Flygon was about to attack again when Latias burst through the clouds and grabbed her. Behind her was Latios, who was incredibly injured. He had cuts, gashes, and bruises all over him, and he was having a hard time staying in the air. Realizing that Latios was too hurt to help, Rainbow flew forward and pinned Flygon's arms and legs to her sides. Then, they pulled Flygon upward. The farther they went, the less Flygon struggled, until something inside of her seemed to crack.

Flygon blinked in surprise. "What the...Rainbow?" She cried, seeing her friend. "Where am I?"

Rainbow screamed with joy, giving Flygon a bear hug. "You wanna know where you are, Flygon? You're free! Aw, yeah!"

"Not completely free," Latios wheezed. "If that human ever sees you again, you'll be back to being enslaved."

"Well then, I just won't go near humans," Flygon reasoned, before realizing who Latios and Latias were. "Hold on. Are you two...Latios and Latias? The two wandering Pokémon of legend?!"

"That's us!" Latias smiled. "We're here to help Rainbow Dash stop the end of the world!"

"The end of...the world?" Flygon gasped.

"I think Flygon needs an explanation," Rainbow laughed. She was happy to have her friend back again.


End file.
